- That our past experiences shape the people we are today.
- That anything can be overcome, no matter how hard it looks.
- That no one can make a decision for you about anything, especially your faith.
And then i was stuck.... didn't really know what to write next. Dot asked us to share our lists with someone we didn't talk to very often. So we did and then she asked how similar our beliefs were and what kinds of things we had written down. Music? Football? TV?......God?
Had i written anything about what i believe about God....nope.....she asked people to say what they'd written about God....going around the circle. I don't know but i did feel a little bit singled out and frowned upon because i didn't write about God....Ok there were three of us who didn't but i still felt like we were kind of looked down upon by the rest of the group.....sorry guys but that's how it came across.....i know it wasn't meant to but that just highlights Dot's next point about how hard it is to be vulnerable....it was so hard to just do it then....to admit that i hadn't written anything down about God, i guess the reason was that i didn't know what i believed in order to write it down, put it into words.
But that's not the point.
Why is it so hard to be real with people? especially Christians who seem to have the 'I've got it all sorted' attitude in a way that makes others feel uncomfortable about owning up when they have a problem. Now I'm not going to go off on a big long rant about this but i just think we need to look at ourselves and see how real we are being, with ourselves and with other people too. So that we don't give off the persona that says 'I'm a christian, of course I'm happy!' and so that we're not afraid to tell people when we need help. This is so hard, I know that for myself but if we're Christians, we're family and we should support each other. maybe we need to make ourselves a little more venerable.....and in that way show others that its Ok to let the mask slip a little and show us a little bit more of who they are too.
I'll stop now because i want to know what you think.....
What DO you REALLY believe?
(don't be afraid to be controversial, you can even post anonymously, i don't mind but be honest.....)
11 comments:
not going to say what i believe, just thought i would raise a point/question. that parents make decisions for their children, including decisions about faith. Yes you can argue that later in life these decisions can be overturned/changed. but not all of them can, and your childhood is the foundation of anyones personality. just a thought. i bet you can't guess who this is... i'll give you a clue, theres 2 photo's of me in your slide show. hope your enjoying uni x x x
Yes i suppose thats a good point, parents do mauke decisions for their children...maybe i didnt think about the wording of that very well....if i say i agree does that make me seem fickle for not being sure on what i do believe....some times the foundation made can be destroyed for good/bad.....i dont really know how to explain what i meant....will think about it.
erm....i cant guess at the moment...did you watch the whole slide show? because that means you are one of four people....so i've narrowed it down....what about another clue? x x x
you can't destroy a foundation, hide it perhaps and try to ignore it, but it will always be there. Take someone who used to be a christian for instance, they then claim to stop believing, but there will still be some remnants that will manifest. whether thats just being confused as to what they believe, or keeping some beliefs/links with christianity.
also believing that your "foundation" can be destroyed conflicts with your belief that your past experiences make you, which also reinforces the fact that your parents help "make" you, and as they make choices for you ect ect. im sure you can see where that was going.
as for a clue, isnt the fact that i comment on your beliefs but share few of my own a clue? who are the four people?
oh my goodness, i really do need to think about things before i say them.....i should have taken more time over that last reply...sorry...i realise that now.....i need to think more carefully.
ok....lets change things a bit....see if i can dig myself out of this hole i've got myself in.
ok....
i believe that my past experiences have shaped who i am today.
I believe that anything can be over come even though i dont think it can.
and
i believe that i will make my own decisions about my faith and my future because i am now my own person and no longer will i be spoon fed ideas or doctrine but i will make up my own mind based on what i read, see, hear and experience.
as for a clue, i really dont want this to turn into a guessing game, i'm really sorry. i really appreciate that you've challenged me and i hope and guess that you probably will again but its ok i know that you know me, very well, that i can tell and so i'm happy that you want to talk to me about this, so thank you.
after a closer look its 1 in 8 so there's no good in me guessing, but i know that i miss you and hope we can catch up soon whoever out of those 8 you are.
you say you will no longer be 'spoon fed ideas', however i ask this question, arent you 'spoonfed' everytime you go to church? just a thought
no because i dont have to accept everything someone tells me. i can step back from it and examine it objectively to see where the truth is and where it fits into the rest of christian doctrine, the bible and history.
just because its said in church doesnt mean its true.
of course being able to choose implies free will and im sure thats a discussion we don't really want to go into.
oh, i have a fantastic clue for you, i love to sleep and am reknowned for my laziness :-)
Hi There Laura, you do like to come uo with hard questions, or should I say Dot likes to!
What do i believe? You see all i could think about in that question was God, nothing eles but God. I can see why people would comeuo with other things, like football, TV etc, as I believe these are distractions.
But the most important thing i Believe, is that prayer works, God created the world and the universe, I believe that Jesus walked talked healed died and rose again!
(you can see that i belive quite a lot hehehe)
But one thing that comes to mind is how nervouse christians are...has anyone said to a random person "God loves you" and thats it? do people like talking about their faith to none belivers?
I belive that w ehave a mission, to dpred the message to people all over the world, and some churches are not doing that, they are sitting comfortably on their seats, singing their favourate songs on a Sunday, evangelising to each other....to them i say "PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!" I believe this to be true all over the UK, we need to be more out there, on the streets not in our churches, we need to be there out on the streets NOT in our Youth Centres, OUT REACH means going OUTside, not staying in doors!
It is time to learn who we are, as my favouate line from a film says "Remember who you are, you are my son, the 1 true king, remember who you are"
I believe that we need to remember who we are, God's Children!
Well, you take care Laura, hope i didnt go on too long lol!
Ben xxx
yes ben out reach does mean we are to go out there and bring new people in but sometimes outreach can be to your current audience eg your church you have to sustain your body to keep them in all of this not everyone is able to keep a working relationship with god without the support of there church and yes prayer does work and im not saying tht outreach shouldnt happen but it shouldnt be a question of activly going out of the way to do it first and formost my outreach isnt anything i do in my life i do it by just being me and yes it is useful to get out there. The perfect outreach wud be to have everyone in ur church not to see sunday as there god day and be fed by there church and then they do the outreach with there lives but alas this is generally not how it works so organised outreach is needed till people live there lives as the perfect christians setting the example to the people im starting to rant
so back to the orginal question wot do i believe
well i believe that our lives are wot we make of them and yes god is there but ur belief in god shudnt mould us completly as people we shud be able to make our own decisions and using faith as a guide as a way to know wot were doing is right. also i beleive that our past help us sort out our future looking back on my life i can see where things in my life have affected and helped the way i make decisions and the past of every1 good or bad should be used as experience to sort the rest out nehoo its 1.45 in morning nad i cant think straight and if i could sort out in my head wot i believe to more than wot i have wud hurt so i leave u with a question back does it matter wot we believe as long as we know tht if we are doing is right also it doesnt matter u didnt have anything tht involved god because the belief in god shud be background in ur own beliefs and so ur main beielfs shud be not of god they go without saying
to the above person.... my comments are much more constructive than yours.. shut up you twit.. you are female we know you are. why does "mr benn" still love the lion king and use that for quotes? (BUSTED) and can i ask you a question? how many times do YOU tell random peeps that god loves them? and have you taken note of how often you would get stabbed if you did this? all my love...... Jebus
to the above person, how can you say that outreach would be good to create perfect christians and then say that you do not believe in god moulding our lives completely? shouldt we also take into account that other religions create equal amounts of faith and good conduct throughout the world, so why be perfect christians?
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